Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction, Ariz. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)
Guidebooks are annoying. Just because some editor who doesn’t know me tells me which restaurant is the best or what attraction is a must-see doesn’t make it a must-see attraction. Sightseers’ Delight is dedicated to the weird, the quirky and the fun. After all, traveling is fun.
If it’s not, you’re doing it wrong.
All of the places highlighted in this ever-growing database are great. Sightseers’ Delight has visited them all. We think you should make a point to see every one of them. But, this is not a guidebook. Just a webpage to help you plan your next adventure.
There are some places that are truly unparalleled, whether it’s the atmosphere, the history or the general experience. While New York City as a whole falls into that category, Grand Central Terminal does as well. The New York Central built the grand terminal, which opened in 1913. An estimated 21.6 million people visit the terminal annually, making it the sixth most visited tourist attraction in the world, according to Travel + Leisure magazine. Even if travel plans in New York don’t call for an entry into or departure from Grand Central, a visit to the Terminal is well worth the sidetrack, no matter how far out of the way it might be.
The Grapevine Calaboose, which derived its name from “calabozo,” the Spanish word for dungeon, was built as the town’s first jail in 1914. The Grapevine City Council authorized its construction in 1909. It was originally located elsewhere in town (on Barton Street) and moved to Heritage Park in 1976, and to its current location in 1994. The jail apparently housed associates of the Barrow Gang. It remained in use until the early 1950s.
The Grapevine Vintage Railroad takes tourists from the small town of Grapevine, a town that cherishes its rugged western appearance and attracts tourists with wine tasting rooms and other merchants along its main street, to the heart of the Old West, Fort Worth. At the stockyards, visitors can climb atop a longhorn for a photo op, watch the twice-daily cattle drives or catch a glimpse of the unabated wild west or visit one of the museums, including the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Stockyards Museum. And, of course, the Grapevine Vintage Railroad.
The Greig Street Bridge is a suspension bridge across the River Ness in Inverness and is open only to pedestrians. Dating 1880-81 and built by the civil engineer C. Manners in conjunction with the Rose Street Foundry for a cost of £1,400, it is composed of two side spans of 67 feet and a central span of 201 feet. Its cables were replaced in 1952, and the anchorages were replaced in 1989.